Symphonic Sedition
by DWH
Summary: Palpatine may have been a great patron of the arts, but only of those that suited his vision of what the Empire ought to be. One-shot.


_**Note**: I am eternally dismayed. It was not until a day later that I realized... the save file I had for this story, for some bizarre reason, was_ _incomplete. Really, really incomplete. I don't know how this happened, since the entire story is posted elsewhere. But I apologize, and have fixed the document._

_**Note the second:** Yeah... so FFN decided, for whatever brilliant reason, that my hyphens were no longer appropriate scene-breakers. If you stumbled upon this before I fixed it, I'm so sorry. Hopefully they won't take away my o's.  
_

o o o

"Well, Mr. Menaraev," the Imperial Intelligence officer Obarek paced before him, moving with precision and purpose. "I must confess, I never thought I'd see you here."

Kavi Menaraev gazed stonily back at him. "I never thought I would _be_ here."

"And yet here you are," Obarek stopped pacing, and turned his stare on the famed composer. "One of the greatest composers of our time, guilty of seditious activities. Horrible for morale, you know."

Kavi matched Obarek's icy glare with his own. "I know of no proof of this."

Obarek gave him a thin smile. "Oh, you will."

**Four Weeks Ago**

Kavi smiled as Tobias Celtru plopped unceremoniously on to his couch. "I thought you'd never make it."

"And miss out on hearing whatever music you've concocted? Never." Tobias grinned. He was a young man with neatly kept black hair and dark brown eyes, tall, lanky, and perfectly matched to his instrument, the upright bass viol. "You haven't composed anything in months. I'd begun to think your inspiration had gone completely dry."

"I'll hear no insults against my inspiration," Kavi admonished him. "You're just recently out of school, so I suppose I should forgive you for not remembering when composers had more freedom."

"You are not _that_ much older than I am," Tobias reminded him.

"But I finished my education more quickly, therefore I've had a few extra years in reality. Did you know that music of non-human origins used to dominate Coruscanti theatres?"

"That was before even _your_ time, Kavi."

Kavi looked at him mock-admonishingly. "I went to a Bothan opera when I was very young, I'll have you know."

Tobias cocked an eyebrow. "And how was that?"

"As I recall?" Kavi shrugged. "I was completely bored."

"That's about what I thought," Tobias grinned. "So, what inspired you to write something now?"

It took Kavi a few moments to respond. "I took a trip a few months ago. I was supposed to conduct my 4th Symphony in the Royal Theatre on Alderaan."

"But the Rebels got there first," Tobias nodded knowingly. "I heard all about that. Horrible business."

"We'd been in hyperspace for at least a day, you know. That was in the middle of my Master Class tour. We were coming back from the Naboo Conservatory, and the first we heard of Alderaan's destruction was the remains of the planet bouncing off the shields." Kavi shook his head. "If any planet deserved to survive this conflict, it was Alderaan. The Empire lost a true gem when the planet was destroyed."

Kavi turned to his keyboard and organized a few scattered sheets of flimsi. Sitting down on the bench, he started to play a slow and mournful fugue; simple, but moving. At first, a higher melody dominated, but the middle range soon started in counterpoint, and it built into a series of rich chords, conveying an utterly bleak sadness, with nary a glimmer of hope.

He let the final chords hang in the air for a few moments before Tobias commented. "I think that is a stunning dedication to Alderaan's loss."

"It's not done," Kavi confessed. "I don't know what the next movement will be, but I know there is more to this quartet."

"Stringed quartet, then?" Tobias inquired. "I know of a few graduate students who would be more than thrilled to take on any project you're associated with."

"Perhaps, once I've written more." Kavi looked at the music thoughtfully. "I would dearly love to hear this with the proper instrumentation, but it's not ready yet."

"Let me know when it is," Tobias stood. "I need to run to rehearsal, but I want to know when you've got the next movement ready."

Kavi smiled, rose, and embraced his friend. "You'll be the first to know."

o o o 

"You know, I'm curious. What does a man of your standing have to do to find himself associated with the Rebels?" Obarek eyed him curiously. "Certainly they would have no place for a man of your talents, the unsophisticated rabble."

Kavi sniffed. "Apparently research is all it takes. I was merely looking for a native perspective. It's not unusual, you know."

"Unusual, no." Obarek agreed. "But you chose a rather- shall we say _controversial_ subject for your symphony, no?"

"The fact that any controversy surrounded the destruction of Alderaan was news to me," Kavi stated flatly. "I am a loyal Imperial citizen, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the Emperor's claims."

"And yet you let your anger out in musical form?" Obarek looked at him skeptically. "That hardly sounds logical to me."

Kavi responded quietly. "The anger was not my own."

**Three Weeks Earlier**

Tobias blinked, impressed. "That was quite a flurry of emotion, that movement."

Kavi grinned. "I can thank no one but my inspiration, a young Alderaanian man who was kind enough to allow me to interview him."

"Was he as angry as the music would indicate?"

"He was quiet. But you could see the anger simmering below the surface, just waiting to burst out." Kavi sighed. "The agony of losing one's home must be exquisite. I was fortunate to find anyone willing to talk about it."

Tobias considered this. "I suppose I'd not want to talk about it either. I still don't understand what the Rebellion gained by taking one of the most peaceful planets from the galaxy."

"He has his own theories on what really happened, though he wouldn't share them with me," Kavi replied. "I'm hoping to meet with him again soon, to discuss further. I think his perspective is going to help turn this symphony into a true work of art."

Tobias looked at him with concern. "Do be careful, Kavi. I don't know what this man's theories are, but anything deviating from the official Imperial word can lead to trouble. You know that as well as I do."

"I won't let anything get out of hand," Kavi promised. "I just want to understand, and talking to this man will help me do that."

Tobias smiled. "I'll hold you to that, you know."

"And that's why I like having you around."

o o o 

"You shouldn't have listened to him, you know." Obarek said casually, browsing through some notes on his datapad. "Collaboration with Rebels is a dangerous business, even if you're only looking for reference material."

Kavi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I did not know of his Rebel connections when I approached him. I merely put out a notice for any Alderaanians willing to share their perspective on their home planet. I was pleasantly surprised by his candidness- I was fully expecting to write a wistful symphony of memories lost."

Obarek raised an eyebrow. "What happened to that symphony? It probably wouldn't have gotten you here."

Kavi held his hands out and shrugged. "It is a fundamental rule of composing that the music you set out to write, and the music that the audience eventually hears are two completely different things. My composition was changed when I met this man."

"Perhaps it should not have been," Obarek sniffed. "It will truly be a waste of talent to have you rotting in a detention cell. The Emperor will not be pleased."

_Perhaps the Emperor should not have so much artistic control_, Kavi thought, but held his tongue. "I would write the same piece over again, if only to preserve some modicum of artistic integrity."

"Artistic integrity is an illusion." Obarek snorted derisively. "One that artists cling to so they can parade their unfounded ideals anywhere without fear of reprisal. And it is an illusion that will not help you in this case."

**One Week Earlier**

Kavi jumped when he heard the knock on the door. Looking carefully through the peep-hole, he could see Tobias' prominent nose looming before the door. He keyed the door open and quickly welcomed his friend inside. "Come in, please, come in."

Tobias shuffled inside. "Good heavens, Kavi, the place is a mess. What happened?"

Kavi scowled. "I was visited last night by two members of Imperial Intelligence. Apparently they've been watching the man who has been assisting me with my symphony, and they wanted to search my apartment for evidence of Rebel activity."

Tobias had to take a few moments to recover from the shock of the idea. "You, collaborating with Rebels? Absurd."

Kavi grimaced. "The man did think the Empire had something to do with Alderaan's destruction."

"The Empire? Is he mad? Why would we destroy one of our own cultural centers?"

"It's not so far-fetched as it seems... Senator Organa has never fallen into line with what the Emperor wanted."

"So we'd destroy an entire planet because one opinionated senator didn't agree with Imperial policy? That's madness." Tobias shook his head. "Implausible."

"I don't know where he got his ideas, but he was quite vehement."

Tobias looked at him reproachfully. "You should know better than to listen to raving madmen."

"He was neither raving nor mad. And I don't know what you youngsters were taught in school, but I was always led to believe I ought to question everything I see. Never discard ideas out of hand, my young friend."

Tobias cast a pointed glance around the disheveled common room. "And by not discarding the ideas of one Alderaanian of dubious origin, you've severely compromised yourself."

"Ah, but this is what I find so interesting!" Kavi went around the room, collecting and reorganizing sheets of music that had been pushed about carelessly. "If they truly were the ravings of a madman, there would hardly have been an investigation into my symphony, now would there?"

"Even ravings can be dangerious," Tobias answered carefully. "Kavi, I thought you promised you'd stay well away from trouble on this."

Kavi stopped his bustling and sighed wearily. "Do you know what it's like to follow a creative spark wherever it wants to lead you?"

"No," Tobias replied flatly. "Untamed sparks may go into extremely dangerous territory, and explode in horrible ways. It's best to keep to tradition, and out of the way of Imperial Intelligence."

Kavi merely looked sad. "I pity your generation of artists. You've never known what it is to be free to create something wonderful."

"You could still create something wonderful of this, without resorting to far-flung theories of Imperial conspiracy," Tobias countered. "Write of the bittersweet memories of a lost home, or something."

"Ah, but that was my original idea." Kavi shook his head. "I could still write it, and it would be a lovely little tribute to Alderaan. I daresay even Darth Vader himself may shed a tear. But that is not the spark that surfaced. The spark that surfaced is wild, unpredictable... and if I can harness it, it will be sheer brilliance."

"You're treading in dangerous waters," Tobias warned. "The Empire won't stand for music inspired by a conspiracy theory."

"You're right, they won't." Kavi set a large stack of flimsi down and slid easily on to the bench before his keyboard. Slowly, he touched a few chords before pounding three dissonant chords in rapid succession, like violent knocks on a door. "They'll come after me again, I'm sure."

Tobias looked sadly at him. "Making light of the situation will not help your case."

"Be that as it may, I will not stop composing this symphony." Kavi punctuated the statement with three more sharp chords.

"It's on your head, then," Tobias replied uselessly. Gathering his things, he stood to leave. Even as he walked out of the apartment, Kavi was furiously writing down music, and playing long, unsettling chords on the keyboard.

Tobias grimaced. He had but one choice.

o o o 

Kavi looked defiantly at Obarek. "Artistic integrity will outlast your rigid rules trying to control it. If there's one thing bureaucracy never understood, it was the creative mind."

Obarek met his gaze unflinchingly. "But the creative mind can easily fathom bureaucracy, which leaves you few excuses."

**Earlier That Day**

Kavi sat at his keyboard, eyes closed, fingers floating over the keyboard almost as though an outside force was controlling them. The keyboard score for the final movement of his symphony was complete. Tobias listened silently. It was a piece of heart-wrenching, extraordinary beauty. A simple, but mournful melody passed between all the different registers, underscored by rich, funereal chords. The simplicity of the music matched perfectly with the planet it commemorated. Even as the final chords faded into the air, he couldn't help but wonder what the piece could have been, had circumstances been different.

Kavi smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

Tobias shook his head. "It's brilliant. I can't think of a better way to close your symphony."

"So I brought you around?"

"No." He frowned, trying to frame his statement in the the best way possible. "I think the symphony would suffer from the inclusion of the middle two movements. Would you consider dropping them entirely?"

Kavi looked at him, aghast. "And lose the soul of the piece? I should certainly hope not."

"Blast it, why not?" Tobias replied angrily. "You know what they'll do to you once this reaches the public. You'll be black-listed. Probably arrested. It wouldn't surprise me if they came back to destroy the score for the symphony, while they were at it."

"I'll take that risk," Kavi said firmly. "You already knew that. Why did you even bother asking?"

Tobias closed his eyes. "Because I had to give you one last chance."

Kavi's eyes narrowed slightly, a mildly confused expression on his face. Before he could ask for Tobias to clarify that statement, the door opened with a slight _whisssh_, and an Imperial agent with two Stormtroopers walked in.

The agent looked at Kavi, eyes stone cold, and simply stated, "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us, Mr. Menaraev."

Wordlessly, Kavi stood and was escorted out by the Stormtroopers. Tobias tried to meet his gaze, but the look of betrayal his old friend shot him was almost too much for him.

The agent nodded his thanks to Tobias. "The Empire will remember your service." With that, he turned on his heel and left.

o o o 

Kavi smiled sourly. "That's what I get for befriending the younger generation."

"And I'm afraid the younger generation will be doing all the composing," Obarek replied. "All copies of your symphony were, of course, destroyed. And by the time they let you out of the detention block, Alderaan will be an irrelevant issue."

"So be it," Kavi sighed. "After all, what can a mere composer do against the might of the Empire?"

**Six Years Later**

Lieutenant Miren was still adjusting to the idea of doing his Y-Wing maintenance on Coruscant. He hadn't been on the old Imperial capital since, well... just after the destruction of Alderaan, and he'd been forced off after the fiasco with the composer of an Alderaan symphony that was never finished. At least, he assumed it was never finished, because no one ever heard of it.

"Sir?"

The deck officer jogged up to him, holding an envelope in his hand. "This just came by post, through one of your old contacts."

Miren looked at it curiously. He hadn't had time to tell any of his contacts that he was leaving, and he didn't know how many of them would still be around once he came back. He accepted it, saluted the deck officer, and tore it open. Inside were several sheets of flimsi, and a small datapad. Activating it, he read.

_Mr. Miren, _

_Thank you so much for your insights into the destruction of your world. You are a truly singular person, and I admire you greatly. The keyboard score is finished, and I'm quite happy with it, but I have reason to believe it may not be safe. Just in case, I am sending this copy to you, through the contact you gave me. It would be disrespectful to the memory of your home were this music to be utterly destroyed. I hope that it may bring some comfort to you and your Alderaanian kin, and if things go well, then perhaps we can meet again. _

_May the Force be with you, _

_Kavi Menaraev _


End file.
